Anti-smash device for a loom



May 2, 1967 R. J. COONEY ETAL 3,316,943

ANTI-SMASH DEVICE FOR A LIUON Filed July 19, 1965 RE TRACTED ADVANCED CENTER A BOTTOM DEAD CENTER F I G. 2

ONO- i, I 55 50 wss 56 |R 60 DW INVENTORS:

ROBERT J. COONEY ([13: LEONARD E. BRODT DP 47 5 BY United States Patent 3,316,943 ANTI-SMASH DEVICE FOR A 1.00M Robert J. Coouey, 121 2nd Ave., Woonsocket, RI. 02895, and Leonard E. Brodt, Woonsocket, R.I.; said Brodt assignor to said Cooney Filed July 19, 1965, Ser. No. 472,793 3 Claims. (Cl. 139-343) This invention relates to a loom, more particularly to the prevention of a smash by reason of the shuttle not having an empty box to enter as it reaches the end of its pick.

In the correct operation of a loom as the lay swings back and forth at the time of beat-up of a pick, the lay is in the position usually referred to as front dead center which is the time at which the lay is in its most advanced position toward the front of the loom or the breast beam. When the lay is in its back position usually referred to as back dead center, it is then in its furthermost position away from the breast beam. Other positions often referred to are top dead center and bottom dead center in which the crank arm which operates the lay is either at the top of its swing or at the bottom of its swing of rotation. The lay carries at its ends shuttle boxes and a picker stick throws a shuttle from the box at one end of the'lay to the box at the other end of the lay. The front wall of each of these boxes is movable and referred to as the binder; that is, it is the part which engages and binds the shuttle in its box. A usual protection for the loom comprises a protection rod which is carried by and reciprocates with the lay. It has feelers which extend radially upwardly from the rod with a spring to rotate the rod so that the feeler will engage the binder and move the binder inwardly if there is no shuttle in the box. This protection rod also has a dagger which extends radially generally horizontally from the rod. When no shuttle is in either of the boxes and the spring has pushed the binder into the box, the dagger is in a position to engage a stop lever on the loom when the lay moves to front center. However, if there is a shuttle in the box, then the feeler rocks the rod so as to depress the dagger and the dagger misses the stop lever and the loom will not be caused to stop but will keep operating. This is the usual protection provided for the loom to prevent a smash.

At the time of a pick, the lay is in substantially back center and the shuttle is in flight across the lay. At this time the boxes of course should be empty, especially the one to which the shuttle is moving in flight. Sometimes, through faulty shifting of the boxes, there is a shuttle in the box toward which the shuttle in flight is moving and up to the present time there is no way in which such fault may cause a stopping of the loom.

This invention consists in the addition to this loom of an arm carried by the protection rod and a switch secured to some fixed part of the loom with an arrangement between the arm and the switch such that in ordinary operation when the box to which a shuttle is traveling is empty, the arm will not contact the switch because the feeler against the binder will maintain the dagger in horizontal position for engagement with the stop lever. However, should there be a shuttle in the box to which the shuttle in flight is traveling, then the feele-r will rock the protection rod by reason of the binder being moved forwardly so that the arm will be in a more rearward position and will, when the lay is at back center, engage the switch and stop the loom before any smash occurs.

An object of this invention is to provide for the stopping of the loom should there be a shuttle in or partially in a shuttle box at back center at the time when a picking shuttle is traveling across the lay so that the loom will stop before a smash occurs by reason of the picked shuttle engaging a shuttle already in the box: which box it would in normal conditions enter.

With this and other objects in view, the invention consist of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fagmental perspective view illustrating the parts of the loom which enter into this invention with the structure of the invention applied thereto;

'FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the parts of this invention with relation to the lay and the positions thereof with reference to the crank shaft of the loom;

FIG. 3 is an electrical schematic illustrating the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmental part of a modified schematic illustration of the invention.

With reference to the drawings, 10 designates the breast beam of a loom mounted on framework 11 which also supports stop levers 12 which when engaged either manually or with the dagger to be described will cause what is known as a bang-off and a stopping of the loom. 15 designates generally the lay which is rockably mounted on swords 16 shown schematically in FIG. 2 with the lay beam 17 supported at the upper ends of the swords which carries the loom reed 1'8 and provides a path or track 19 for the movement of a shuttle across the loom. Shuttle boxes are located at the ends of the lay, each of which has a binder 20.

Upon the lay beam portion of the lay, a protection rod 25 is mounted in a suitable bracket 26 so that it may rock about its longitudinal axis. Daggers 27 extend substantially horizontally from and are fixed to the protection rod 25 and are so located that when the lay moves forwardly toward the breast beam 10, they may engage the stop levers 12. Also radially extending from the protection rod 25 and mounted by means of hub 28, there are the feelers 29 which are swung by means of spring 30 so as to engage the binders of the shuttle boxes and force the binders inwardly if there is no shuttle in the box. When the binders are forced inwardly by reason of the absence of a shuttle in the box, the daggers are in a position to engage the stop lever. When the shuttle enters the box as beat-up occurs, the protection rod 25 is rocked so as to move the dagger downwardly to a position to clear the stop lever, thus permitting the loom to keep operatmg.

The invention of this application comprises a switch 35 which is normally open but closed by lever 36. This switch is mounted at the end of a horizontal L-bracket 37 bolted to the breast beam 10 as by upstanding portion 38. Bracket 37 extends rearwardly from the breast beam beneath the protection rod 25. An arm 4% is mounted by means of a clamp 41 on the protection rod 25 and is adjusted to such position that if the shuttle boxes are empty and the feelers 29' have moved the binder inwardly, thus maintaining the daggers 27 in position to engage the stop lever 12, the lay at the extent of its back ward movement, that is, back center, will hold the arm 40 in such a position that it does not quite engage the lever 36 to actuate switch 35. Thus, this switch is untouched and idle during normal loom operation. However, should it occur that there is a shuttle in either of the boxes, then the feeler 29 will by reason of the binder being moved forwardly swing the protection rod clockwise as seen at the left-hand end of FIG. 1 so as to swing the arm 40 rearwardly a suflicent amount so that at back center of the lay the arm 40 will engage the lever 36 and actuate switch 35 which stops the loom as will presently be described.

There are conditions, however, when it is desired that he loom will not stop by reason of such switch actuation, or example, during bobbin transfer when a so-called dead nick occurs and no shuttle goes across the loom, giving t depleted bobbin an opportunity to be replaced by a Full one. In such case the filling bobbin transfer mechaiism of the loom is equipped with a dead pick rod 45 which we add an arm 46 which extends upwardly and which is in a position to engage the actuating lever 48 of a second switch 47 mounted at the inner end of the oracket 37. When a dead pick is to occur, the timing :hain initiates a mechanical motion which includes rotation of the rod 45 that in turn moves the arm 46 into a position to engage lever 48 of switch 47, interrupting a connection to switch 3 5 so that during the time that the dead pick rod is swung to the position for a dead pick to occur, there will be no stopping of the loom by reason of the contact of arm 40 with lever 36.

The looms to which this invention is applied have an electric stop motion so connected that if any warp permits a drop Wire suspended thereby to drop, electrical mechanism will cause a stopping of the loom, and switches 35 and 47 are connected into this circuit which will now be described.

Referring to FIG. 3, an electric diagram schematically illustrates the connections that are made into the existing circuitry. At 50 a source of low voltage alternating current may be supplied, one side of which is conveniently grounded to the frame of the machine as at 51. A double pole switch 52 is mechanically connected to the shipper handle and will be in a closed position in both branches when the loom is in operation. From the so-called hot side of the low voltage supply designated 54 a circuit is, therefore, made through one pole of the shipper switch to a warp stop solenoid coil 55 that is serially connected through one normally opened contact 56 of the warp stop relay. The other branch through the other pole of the shipper switch conects through the coil of the warp stop relay 57, the other side of which may be connected to ground through various branch circuits including a holding contactor 58 of the warp stop relay.

The other two branches that connect to ground and which will activate the warp stop relay are the drop wire contacts indicated at 60, and a series circuit consisting of the switch 35 and the dead pick switch 47, the former of which is normally open and the latter of which is normally closed. It will be apparent that should a probable smash be detected by the mechanism described above, the switch 35 will have its contacts closed whereupon the warp stop relay coil 57 will be energized closing contacts 56 and 58. The closing of contact 56 actuates the warp stop solenoid which mechanically actuates the stop lever (as is well known in the art) as well as holds the warp stop relay in actuated position through holding contact 58. Resetting of this circuit can only be had now by moving the shipper arm which in turn will open the shipper switch 52. It will be noted that a detector light 62 is provided effectively across the warp stop relay coil, which light will be on when a failure has occurred, thus telling the loom operator visually of such a failure.

Stopping of the loom, when a shuttle is in a box at back dead center, may take other forms of structure as for example as shown in FIG. 4 where a switch 35A may be substituted for the switch 35 and placed in a position beneath the dagger 27 so that its lever 36A will be moved to close the switch 35A when the protection rod is rotated, by a shuttle being in the box, to swing the dagger downwardly. In this switch circuit there is also in series with switch 35A a switch 65, the lever 66 of which is moved to closed position by the crank 67 of the crank shaft of the loom when it is at back dead center as indicated in FIG. 4. Thus, should a shuttle be in a box when the lay is at 'back dead center as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4, a circuit would be completed to stop the loom as above explained.

We claim:

1. In a loom having an electric stop motion circuit and a stop lever, a lay carrying a shuttle box and shuttle and having a protection rod with a dagger to engage said lever and a feeler on said protection rod to mechanically move said dagger out of a path to engage said lever upon the presence of a shuttle in said shuttle box, that improvement which comprises adding to a m so constituted a switch fixed to the loom with reference to which the lay swings, said switch being connected in circuit with said stop motion circuit and a downwardly extending arm on said protection rod, the relative location of said switch and arm being such that at back dead center position of the lay said arm clears said switch when the feeler detects the absence of a shuttle in the shuttle box but engages said switch when the feeler detects a shuttle in the box and swings the protection rod to move said arm.

2. In a loom having an electric stop motion circuit and a stop lever, a dead pick rod, a lay carrying a shuttle box and shuttle and having a protection rod with a dagger to engage said lever and a feeler to move said dagger out of a path to engage said lever upon the presence of a shuttle in said shuttle box, an anti-smash device comprising a first switch fixed to the loom with reference to which the lay swings and connected in circuit with said stop motion circuit, an arm on said protection rod located in a position so that at back dead center position of the lay said arm clears said first switch when the feeler detects the absence of a shuttle in the shuttle box but engages said first switch when the feeler detects a shuttle in the box and swings the protection rod to move said arm, an arm on said dead pick rod and a second switch in said first switch circuit to interrupt said first switch circuit when the dead pick rod is actuated.

3. In a loom having an electric stop motion circuit and a stop lever, a dead pick rod, a lay carrying a shuttle box and shuttle and having a protection rod with a dagger to engage said lever and a feeler to move said dagger out of a path to engage said lever upon the presence of a shuttle in said shuttle box, an anti-smash device comprising cooperating means having a first part carried by said protection rod and a second part fixed to the loom with reference to which the lay swings and said second part being in a circuit connected to said stop motion circuit to engage and actuate a stopping circuit at back center position of the lay when the feeler detects a shuttle in the box at back center position of the lay and means actuated by said dead pick rod to interrupt said second part circuit when the dead pick rod is actuated.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 681,373 8/1901 Phelps 139-343 X 1,112,366 9/1914 Dustin 139-343 1,540,942 6/ 1925 La Fayette 139-343 1,587,913 6/1926 Livesey 139-343 1,950,224 3/ 1934 Burdett 139-341 2,148,700 2/ 1939 LohSSe 139-336 2,339,206 1/1944 Tirrell 139-343 2,730,140 1/1956 Lovshin et al 139-341 2,745,441 5/1956 Roebuck 139-341 2,781,792 2/1957 Kirnmel et al 139-232 2,781,793 2/1957 Kimmel 139-232 3,003,524 10/1961 Metzler 139-341 3,227,190 1/1966 Richards 139-336 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,714 1912 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

J. KEE CHI, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A LOOM HAVING AN ELECTRIC STOP MOTION CIRCUIT AND A STOP LEVER, A LAY CARRYING A SHUTTLE BOX AND SHUTTLE AND HAVING A PROTECTION ROD WITH A DAGGER TO ENGAGE SAID LEVER AND A FEELER ON SAID PROTECTION ROD TO MECHANICALLY MOVE SAID DAGGER OUT OF A PATH TO ENGAGE SAID LEVER UPON THE PRESENCE OF A SHUTTLE IN SAID SHUTTLE BOX, THAT IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES ADDING TO LOOM SO CONSTITUTED A SWITCH FIXED TO THE LOOM WITH REFERENCE TO WHICH THE LAY SWINGS, SAID SWITCH BEING CONNECTED IN CIRCUIT WITH SAID STOP MOTION CIRCUIT AND A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING ARM ON SAID PROTECTION ROD, THE RELATIVE LOCATION OF SAID SWITCH AND ARM BEING SUCH THAT AT BACK DEAD CENTER POSITION OF 